Spanning Ludwig Wittgenstein's entire career, from his student days at Cambridge to entires inserted into a notebook two days before his death, this guide outlines the unconventional backdrop to Wittgenstein's philosophical achievements: his dramatic change of professions, his eccentric lifestyle and privileged background. The straightforward analysis of the philosopher's three great ideas reveals the dramatic reversals of opinion that characterized Wittgenstein's career, and provides a penetrating insight into the way in which language shapes our world.